Tenant blames NYCHA for girl’s lead poisoning

A tenant at the Linden Houses in East New York says the New York City Housing Authority is to blame for her 2-year-old daughter having high levels of lead in her bloodstream.

Helen Jackson says blood test results for her daughter Makayla came back with a lead reading of 18 micrograms per deciliter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anything above a 5 is not good for children.

Jackson says the high level of lead in her daughter's system prompted city health inspectors to test for lead in her apartment at 225 Wortman Ave. In their initial sweep using an X-ray machine, they discovered lead paint in 19 different locations inside her apartment. Inspectors marked the locations with a red lead paint stamp.

NYCHA insists that when the paint chips taken from Jackson's apartment were tested in a lab, they did not have lead in them. They told News 12 in a statement, "In this case, lead paint was ruled out as a cause to the child's elevated blood levels."

Jackson's lawyer and local lawmakers say they question NYCHA's response. They are telling parents who live in NYCHA complexes to get their children tested as a precaution.

According to the CDC, high levels of lead can cause developmental delays and other health problems in children.